I’m Not a Travel Superhero!

A home-cooked meal in a Beijing hutong home, the lake at the Summer Palace in Beijing and me on the Great Wall

Well I am back from my whirlwind trip to China – Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai, all in 9 days. And now it comes time for the cold hard truth: I am not a travel superhero.

I. Am. Exhausted! Lately it seems that I can’t travel internationally without being severely jetlagged, exhausted and all around out of sorts. When did this happen to me? I used to be a flight path warrior! I was able to fly anywhere and do anything and be at work the next day like nothing happened. I went to Berlin for a weekend (and partied the whole time) and still showed up at work like I filed my nails all weekend on the couch. What happened to me??

Going to Morocco earlier this year laid me out for almost a week after I returned home. My China trip threatened to do the same. For my Morocco trip, I built in 2 days of rest in Milan, but apparently it wasn’t enough. For China, I was not in charge of the itinerary as we did a tour, but I felt I was fairly well rested before returning. I’m sure the long flight back to NYC probably has a little something to do with my fatigue (as well as getting ill from the smog in Shanghai).

At any rate, when you try to travel extensively while holding down a 9 to 5, you can’t afford to spend several days recuperating from your world travels! I need to find quick ways to bounce back and regain my travel superhero status. Any pointers? Anything I should be doing that I’m not? Let me know in the comments!